New Boyd facility opens in Hendersonville

The new $6 million Boyd Chevrolet Cadillac Buick facility opened on Spartanburg Highway Monday.

Nancy Tanker/Times-News

By NANCY TANKERTimes-News Staff Writer

Published: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, November 11, 2013 at 5:51 p.m.

Cam Boyd and his son, Les, were all smiles on Monday morning as they welcomed customers into their new $6 million Boyd Chevrolet Cadillac Buick facility on Spartanburg Highway in Hendersonville. The 27,000-square-foot space has given the family business the space it needs to continue to grow.

“We're very confident in our future here,” said Les, who co-owns the facility along with his father. “We now have a building with everything under one roof. The layout is more customer-friendly.”

The building has a large service area with a waiting room, a spacious showroom, a detailing center, lot space for hundreds of new and pre-owned cards, plus more than a dozen modern offices for customer service and backroom functions such as accounting.

Cam said Cooper Construction of Hendersonville built the facility, and all of the building's lighting was purchased from the GE Lighting plant also on Spartanburg Highway. He said he's hoping the building will “become a showroom for the GE clients to visit.”

They “tried to use as many local people as we could” to get the new facility built, Cam Boyd said.

As Les Boyd stepped into an empty office, the motion-censor ceiling lights went on automatically. The lighting provides several benefits, including bringing out the colors on the cars more, adding security and giving the company high energy efficiency. The GE lights are so efficient, Cam said, it only costs an extra $100 a month to leave the lights on overnight so customers can see the cars, and the lot can remain highly visible for security.

Customers Rodger and Jayne Morse bought a new Buick Enclave at Boyd's old location in Five Points about two weeks ago. On Monday, they were at the new Spartanburg location to get some tips from their salesman, Lee Edgerton.

“We love it!” Rodger Morse said of the new facility.

“We want a tour!” Jayne Morse said from the back seat. Edgerton said he'd be happy to give them a tour.

“I'm getting used to the new building, but I love it,” Edgerton added. “These are the best customers I could ever deal with.”

The building “seems so much roomier here,” Rodger Morse said. “The other place was a little tight.”

That's exactly why the Boyd family decided to invest in a new facility – they had simply outgrown the Five Points location, where they had been located for decades. Plus, Cam Boyd added, Hendersonville High can use the 3-acre former location to expand.

“My wife and I graduated from Hendersonville High, as well as our son and daughter,” he said. The high school “needed the room, and we needed more room” at Boyd.

In January, the county purchased the property for about $2.75 million and is considering closing a portion of Ninth Avenue that runs between the property and the school, according to county Finance Director J. Carey McLelland. When the Boyd appraisal came in about $600,000 over the county's appraisal, Cam Boyd and his wife, Sally, reduced the purchase price by that amount.

“We would rather have the school have it than anything else,” Cam Boyd said.

“We are still in the planning stages of what the property will be used for after we get it,” said Hendersonville High Principal Bobby Wilkins. “We have architects looking at the school as it is now and at the new property.”

The school can use the property “to help with many things. One is the sizes of our classrooms. We will be able to get out of the classrooms that are not big enough for 30-plus students,” Wilkins said. “Other (issues) are school security, student and teacher parking, space for extracurricular events, just to name a few.”

The Boyds picked the Spartanburg Highway location for the new facility, Les Boyd said, “because of the widening of Upward Road, the traffic coming down Spartanburg Highway, and because of the 225 connector coming from South Carolina.” He said he thinks that end of town is up-and-coming. “We feel we are in a good location to benefit our company.”

On Monday, customer Mike Carriker was sitting comfortably in the buildings new service waiting room, enjoying a book while waiting for his Chevy truck to be serviced. He said the new facility is so nice that he doesn't mind driving a few extra miles from his Mills River home.

“I like Boyd,” he said. “I bought my truck from them about two-and-a-half years ago, so I service it with them.” The new location “is a big change from the old place.”

<p>Cam Boyd and his son, Les, were all smiles on Monday morning as they welcomed customers into their new $6 million Boyd Chevrolet Cadillac Buick facility on Spartanburg Highway in Hendersonville. The 27,000-square-foot space has given the family business the space it needs to continue to grow. </p><p>“We're very confident in our future here,” said Les, who co-owns the facility along with his father. “We now have a building with everything under one roof. The layout is more customer-friendly.”</p><p>The building has a large service area with a waiting room, a spacious showroom, a detailing center, lot space for hundreds of new and pre-owned cards, plus more than a dozen modern offices for customer service and backroom functions such as accounting. </p><p>Cam said Cooper Construction of Hendersonville built the facility, and all of the building's lighting was purchased from the GE Lighting plant also on Spartanburg Highway. He said he's hoping the building will “become a showroom for the GE clients to visit.”</p><p>They “tried to use as many local people as we could” to get the new facility built, Cam Boyd said. </p><p>As Les Boyd stepped into an empty office, the motion-censor ceiling lights went on automatically. The lighting provides several benefits, including bringing out the colors on the cars more, adding security and giving the company high energy efficiency. The GE lights are so efficient, Cam said, it only costs an extra $100 a month to leave the lights on overnight so customers can see the cars, and the lot can remain highly visible for security. </p><p>Customers Rodger and Jayne Morse bought a new Buick Enclave at Boyd's old location in Five Points about two weeks ago. On Monday, they were at the new Spartanburg location to get some tips from their salesman, Lee Edgerton. </p><p>“We love it!” Rodger Morse said of the new facility. </p><p>“We want a tour!” Jayne Morse said from the back seat. Edgerton said he'd be happy to give them a tour. </p><p>“I'm getting used to the new building, but I love it,” Edgerton added. “These are the best customers I could ever deal with.”</p><p>The building “seems so much roomier here,” Rodger Morse said. “The other place was a little tight.”</p><p>That's exactly why the Boyd family decided to invest in a new facility – they had simply outgrown the Five Points location, where they had been located for decades. Plus, Cam Boyd added, Hendersonville High can use the 3-acre former location to expand. </p><p>“My wife and I graduated from Hendersonville High, as well as our son and daughter,” he said. The high school “needed the room, and we needed more room” at Boyd. </p><p>In January, the county purchased the property for about $2.75 million and is considering closing a portion of Ninth Avenue that runs between the property and the school, according to county Finance Director J. Carey McLelland. When the Boyd appraisal came in about $600,000 over the county's appraisal, Cam Boyd and his wife, Sally, reduced the purchase price by that amount. </p><p>“We would rather have the school have it than anything else,” Cam Boyd said. </p><p>“We are still in the planning stages of what the property will be used for after we get it,” said Hendersonville High Principal Bobby Wilkins. “We have architects looking at the school as it is now and at the new property.”</p><p>The school can use the property “to help with many things. One is the sizes of our classrooms. We will be able to get out of the classrooms that are not big enough for 30-plus students,” Wilkins said. “Other (issues) are school security, student and teacher parking, space for extracurricular events, just to name a few.”</p><p>The Boyds picked the Spartanburg Highway location for the new facility, Les Boyd said, “because of the widening of Upward Road, the traffic coming down Spartanburg Highway, and because of the 225 connector coming from South Carolina.” He said he thinks that end of town is up-and-coming. “We feel we are in a good location to benefit our company.”</p><p>On Monday, customer Mike Carriker was sitting comfortably in the buildings new service waiting room, enjoying a book while waiting for his Chevy truck to be serviced. He said the new facility is so nice that he doesn't mind driving a few extra miles from his Mills River home. </p><p>“I like Boyd,” he said. “I bought my truck from them about two-and-a-half years ago, so I service it with them.” The new location “is a big change from the old place.”</p><p>Reach Tanker at 828-694-7871 or nancy.tanker@blueridgenow.com.</p>